Homes evacuated and roads closed as flooding hits the Province

The north part of the Province has been battered by heavy rain as violent storms, triggering numerous flooding incidents.

The downpours swept in from the Atlantic Ocean, hitting Co Donegal before moving across Northern Ireland during Tuesday evening.

Met Eireann and the Met Office have issued yellow rain warnings for the northern half of the island.

Between 7pm and 11pm firefighters in Northern Ireland responded to 60 flooding incidents.

A number of people were rescued from cars caught in the sudden floods and police issued a warning to all road users to exercise caution in the hazardous conditions.

Several people in Londonderry and the North West also had to be evacuated from their homes.

In Claudy the force of the water caused part of a bridge to collapse.

Police warned drivers of hazardous driving conditions due to flooding especially in Tyrone and Derry/Londonderry.

A spokesman said: “Please slow down and drive with care.”

Late on Tuesday night, a Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) spokesman said: “Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service are continuing to deal with a large number of flood related incidents across the province as a result of localised heavy rainfall.

“A considerable number of these incidents have occurred in the west of the province.

“NIFRS has carried out a number of rescues of persons trapped in vehicles in flood water and we would advise all road users to exercise extreme caution overnight.”

The River Faughian in Co Londonderry is reported to have burst its banks and several roads have been closed.

In Co Tyrone the Drumeen Road and Donaghanie Road are closed due to flooding. The Crockanboy Road is also closed due to a damaged surface while Plumbridge Bridge is closed because of high water levels.